Backhoes, excavators and similar type vehicles have an extendable or articulated arm with a tool such as a bucket or hydraulic breaker attached at an end thereof remote from the operator. Generally, a rotation link is associated with the arm. The tool is pivotally attached to the arm by a clevis which serves as a pivot point for the tool. The rotation link is also pivotally attached to the tool so that movement of the rotation link causes the tool to rotate about the arm pivot point. With such an arrangement, the tool can be rotated relative to the arm in a generally vertical, forwardly extending plane defined by the arm and the rotation link, but lateral tilting of the-tool is not possible, at least without tilting of the vehicle. The arm and rotation link are usually not laterally tiltable relative to the vehicle to which they are attached.
There are occasions, however, when it would be very desirable to work with the tool or other tool tilted to the left or right, such as when necessary to adjust for slope requirements or to do side-angle grading. It is, of course, undesirable and often not possible to laterally tilt the entire vehicle to achieve tilting of the tool.
This problem has been overcome with the advent of laterally tiltable tool actuators such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,906,161; 5,145,313 and 5,242,258. Such tool actuators generally include a helical actuator attached to the arm and the rotation link, and supporting a tool or other tool for lateral rotation thereof. This allows the tool to be laterally tilted from side to side. Control of the amount of lateral tilting is accomplished by selective application of fluid pressure within the actuator. Such tool actuators can transmit large torque to the tool and firmly hold the tool at the desired tilt angle.
The tool generally has spaced apart mounting holes at a fixed separation to allow the tool to be mounted to the arm. The arm has mating holes which are spaced apart by the same distance to allow the tool to be attached thereto with mounting pins. The tool actuators mentioned above have the actuator connectable to the tool using these same mounting holes. While they do provide some ability to operate with tools with varying mounting hole spacings, the designs do not provide for sufficient flexibility in the size of mounting hole spacings encountered. Further, they are not as quick and easy to use as desired and are more complicated in design and expensive to manufacture than desired.
It will, therefore, be appreciated that there has been a significant need for a laterally tiltable tool actuator which can easily be adapted to fit tools and other tools of varying mounting hole spacings. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides other related advantages.